Manufacture of shoes



March 8, 1938. I E, P. WALKER 2,110,249

MANUFACTURE OF SHOES Filed Nov. 5, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor; 24 m1? way); 5 g wtredc fl ix 0T;

J A tst Mmhs, 193s. E, P, WA KE 2,110,249

MANUFACTURE OF SHOES Filed Nov. 5, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i y-z1720622602: Edwin E hfaZfi'er;

Patented Mar. 8, 1938 UNETE STATES F'ATENT GFFECE 7 Claims.

This invention pertains to the manufacture of shoes or the like andrelates more particularly to an improved method of preparing parts forshoe uppers. Many shoe uppers as now made comprise an outer or facingmember of textile fabric or other very thin and sheer material which istoo light and flimsy or too easily stretched to be used alone in theupper of a shoe. For this reason such materials are usu ally reinforcedby what is known as a doubler, backer or backing member, which is apiece of cloth or other flexible sheet material which is strong butrelatively cheap as compared with thefacing material, and. which issecured by means of adhesive to the back or inner side of the facingmember of the shoe part.

The facing material (particularly textile fabric) and its backing fabricare usually united by manufacturers who specialize in the preparation oflaminated or multi-ply fabrics, and who furnishtheduplex upper stock,comprising the united facing and backing materials, to the shoemanufacturer. No particular difficulty is experienced in thus preparingand uniformly uniting' the facing material and the backing fabric, sinceboth are obtainable in great lengths of substantially uniform width andweight, and may thus be delivered to a coating machine of standard andwell-known type which uniformly coats the'meeting surfaces of bothfabrics, and brings them together under pressure to produce a duplexmaterial wherein the adhesive is distributed with almost absoluteuniformity over the areas of its constituent plies. If suchduplex upperstockbe a white dyeable fabric it is capable,

after being made up into a shoe, of takingv dye or stain uniformly overits entire area so that the shoe may be finished to any appropriateshade, no matt-cr'how delicate, without danger of irregularity in coloror surface appearance.

Since textile material, even more than leather, would present a roughand unpleasing appearance at any exposed edge unless protected by afinish, it is desirable to fold over or double the margin of the uppermember wherever an exposed edge is to appear. When the fabric isreinforced by a doubler or backing member and the latter is of anysubstantial thickness, it is manifest that when the margin is foldedover it includes four thicknesses, of which two are of relatively thickand stiff backing material, so that it is difiicult to avoid a bulkyappearance at the edge of the upper. Moreover, since the adhesiveemployed. in connection with the folding operation is usually activatedby the same type of solvent as is the adhesive which is used in unitingthe backing member to the facing member, there is a tendency for thesolvent applied in the folding operation to loosen the facing fabricfrom the backer adjacent to the edge, which results in a very unsightlyappearance. If it be attempted to make the edge thinner, as by skivingthe margins of the material, the folding operation (which is done bymachine) results in stretching this thinner edge material so that whenthe edge has been folded it tends to take on a Wavy appearance due tothe greater length of the margin as compared with the body materialadjacent thereto.

In shoes which have openings within the borders of the upper parts, forexample, ornamental cut-outs, it is necessary to finish the edges ofthese cut-outs in the same way as the outer margins of the material, butto do this effectively is very diihcult and in fact almost impossible.These openings are. often very small and when the margins of suchopenings are turned in, the area for the adhesive to act on is solimited that the adhesive will not hold. 0n the other hand, it ispractically impossible to skive the edges of the material at these smallopenings so as to make it more flexible and thus to facilitate thefolding and cementing operation.

One desirable procedure designed to produce a satisfactory finishededge, comprises cutting a facing member from unbacked facing materialand a backing member from backing material, the backing member being ofa shape generally similar to but slightly smaller than the facingmember, and accurately conforming to the shoe pattern. The backingmember is then laid upon the inner surface of the facing member andcaused to adhere thereto, and the projecting margin of the somewhatlarger facing member is then turned over onto the back or exposedsurface of the backing member and caused to adhere to the latter. Wherecut-outs occur the material of the facing member is slit and turned inthrough a preformed cut-out opening in the backing member and is adheredto the latter. In this Way, finished edges having only three thicknesscsof material are provided, the backing member being included but once insuch an edge. Since the facing material is ordinarily quite thin ascompared with the backing material, this method provides a much thinnerand more perfect edge than may be obtained in accordance with previousmethods of procedure.

However, ordinary modes of uniting the backing and facing members arenot wholly satisfactory when following the above procedure since, inpractice, it is difficult to apply adhesive material uniformly to thefacing and backing members after they have been out. Some of the partsof a shoe upper are very irregular,frequently comprising narrow tonguesor the like, for example integral straps, and in attempting to applyfluid adhesive to such parts or in the vicinity of cutouts by usualmethods it is very difficult to avoid daubing the outer surface of thefabric, which is often of a very delicate shade or texture. Even if theouter surface is not thus soiled, the nonuniform application of theadhesive often allows the facing material to separate from the backingmaterial, thus forming blisters at various points during the wear of theshoe. Such non-uniform application of cement makes it difficult, undersome conditions, to stain or dye the shoe uniformly, since those partsof the material which have received the adhesive sometimes take adifferent tint from those which have not, either initially or after theshoe has been worn.

To avoid the above difficulties the present invention furthercontemplates the preparation of facing material and backing fabric, oneor both of which is coated uniformly in the roll with a suitableadhesive of a type which is normally tacky.

The tacky coating layer is then protected and rendered normally neutralor non-effective by means of a cover or coating sheet of a non-stickynature, for example a sheet of wax paper or the like to which theadhesive coating layer adheres less strongly than to the facing orbacking materials, so that the coating or covering sheet may, at will,be stripped off from the sticky surface, leaving the latter intact andin active condition.

The facing and/ or backing materials thus prepared, with their adhesivecoatings and protective coverings, may be furnished to the shoemanufacturer in rolls in the same way as the usual duplex backed stock,and he may then cut out the proper shapes by means of a dinking machineor otherwise, as preferred,the backing member being out exactly to thepattern and the corresponding facing member to a somewhat larger size.The matching pieces of material are then taken to an operator who stripsoff the paper from each adhesively coated piece and lays the two piecestogether in proper symmetrical registering relation. Slight pressure isthen sumcient to cause a firm and uniform adhesion of the two pieces.

After thus being united the edges of the facing member may be foldedover onto the exposed surface of the backing member and stuck to thelatter. Likewise whenever a cut-out opening occurs in the backingmember, the overlying facing material may be slit and its margins may befolded back through the opening in the backing member, the adhesive onthe back of the facing fabric usually being sufficient to hold thefolded over margins in place until they have been stitched.

A modification of the above procedure resides in providing the adhesivein the form of very thin sheet material which is normally dry, that isto say, non-sticky, but which may be made sticky by the application ofheat and/or a suitable solvent. From such sheet material may be cut outa duplicate of the facing member and this adhesive uniting member maythen be interposed between the backing and facing members when thelatter are assembled, and as a step in the operation may be made activeeither by the application of heat or a solvent or both, so as to unitethe several parts to form a substantially unitary structure.

In the accompanying drawings, in which certain desirable embodiments ofthe invention have been disclosed by way of example,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a completed shoe vamp of typical contourprepared in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear plan view of the vamp of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic'perspective view illustrating sheet material,prepared in accordance with the present invention, in readiness for usein making the facing member of a shoe part;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic perspective view illustrating the step ofcutting a facing member from the material illustrated in Fig. 3;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but illustrating backing materialprepared in accordance with the present invention for use in making thebacking member of a shoe part;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 illustrating the step of cutting abacking member from the backing material of Fig. 4;

Fig. 5 is a plan View, partly in perspective, showing the rear side of acomposite facing member as out from the material of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a section, to larger scale, substantially on the line 6-4 ofFig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a plan View, partly in perspective, showing the inner surfaceof a composite backing member as cut from the material of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a section, to larger scale, on the line 8-8 of Fig. '7;

Fig. 9 is a plan view, partly in perspective, illustrating the step ofremoving the covering or protective sheet from the adhesive surface, forexample, of the backing member;

Fig. 10 is a plan view showing an adhesive member cut from thin sheetadhesive; and

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10 but showing an adhesive member cutfrom very thin textile material having inclusions, impregnations, orcoatings of adhesive material.

In accordance with the preferred method, both backing and facing membersare adhesively coated, and this preferred procedure is specificallyillustrated and hereinafter described in detail, but the invention iscontemplated as inclusive of that modified procedure in which but one ofthe associated members (backing and facing) is provided with the tackyadhesive layer.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral I (Fig.

3) designates a roll of facing material made in accordance with thepresent invention. This roll may be of any desired length convenient formanufacture or handling, and the material may be of any suitable andpractical width. This facing material comprises the facing fabric 2which may, for example, be silk, satin, thin and flexible leather, orthe like, having a layer 3 of normally tacky adhesive spread uniformlyupon its inner or rear surface. This layer of adhesive may be applied bymeans of rolls, brushes, doctor knives or any of the other usualappliances commonly employed for the purpose and forming elements ofpaper or fabric coating machines, it being readily possible in dealingwith fabric in long lengths to apply a coating which is of substantiallyuniform thickness and which covers all points of the surface of thematerial. In accordance with the present invention the adhesive layer 3is normally tacky or sticky and the exposed surface of such sticky layeris protected during storage, shipment and in handling, by a protectivecovering 4 such, for example, as heavy waxed paper; Since the adhesivelayer 3 has a preferential affinity for the facing fabric 2 it ispossible topeel' off the wax paper covering without disturbing thecontinuity of the adhesive layer.

Further, in accordance with the present method there is provided aroll 5(Fig; 4) of backing material comprising'the backing fabric 6", forexample cotton duck, cotton flannel or the like, such as is commonlyemployed for backing parts of shoe uppers and which may be obtained inalmost any desired length and width, This material, in accordance withthe preferred procedure, is provided with a layer 1 of normally tackyadhesive which is uniformly spread over the entiresurface of'the backingfabric. Over this adhesive layer there is disposed a covering orprotecting sheet 8 of waxed paper or'the like which may readily bestripped I from the adhesive layer.

Rolls such as l' and 5 of facing and backing material are prepared bythe maker of such goods and furnished in this condition to the shoemanufacturer. The lattermay unroll the material at will and place itupon the cutting block, for example, of a dinking machine. Facing andbacking members are cut from the facing and backing materialsrespectively by means of patterns or dies, as preferred; In Figs. 3 and4 the steps of cutting out the facing member 54 from the facing materialand the backing member l5 from the backing material are diagrammaticallyindicated, the respective materials l and 5 being shown as having beenpartially unrolled and spread out fiat.

In'Fig. 1 the numerals designates a shoe vamp illustrative of certaincharacteristics commonly found in' the parts of a shoe upper; Thus, forexample, this vamp comprises the very narrow integral tongue member IDwhose lateral edges, as well as the upper edges H of the vamp proper,and the edges l2 defining notches in the vamp, must be finished to avoidraw or raveling edges in the completed shoe upper. This vamp also hascut-out openings l3 whose edges must likewise be finished.

Referring to Fig. 5 which shows the back or inner surface of a compositefacing member M for a vamp, (including the facing material and its tackycoating and covering sheet) it will be noted that while this facingassembly corresponds in general't'o the contour of composite backingmember I 5, Fig. 7, the facing member is of slightly larger area, theadditional area as compared with that of the backing member beingindicated at the shaded portions of Fig. 5. Having prepared compositefacing and backing members M and l5las described, such. members are thengiven to the assembling operator who performs the next step in theoperation, as illustrated in Fig. 9, such step consisting in peeling offthe protecting paper 8 from the backing material and the protectingpaper 4 from the facing material, and then disposing, the resultantparts in registry with their adhesive surfaces in contact, and pressingthem together. In so bringing these parts into contact they aresymmetrically disposed, and (with respect to parts shaped as shown inFigs. 5 and 7) those edges of the facing part which are not shown shadedwill be placed in direct registry with corresponding edges of thebacking part, thus leaving the adhesively-coated margins l2 [2 of thefacing part projecting beyond corresponding edges of the backing part.The operator then folds these coated margins I2 i2 back onto the exposedsurface of the superposed body part and causes the fold-over portionsi2, i2 (Fig. 2) to adhere to the backing part, the adhesive onthesefolded over margins usually being sufficient for the purpose, althoughother adhesive may be employed if necessary. Likewise if the shoe partis to comprise cut-outs, such cutouts are formed, as indicated at I 3 inFig. 7, in cutting the backing member, and after the facing member hasbeen securedto the backing member, the material of the facing member isslit at the points where it overlies the openings 3 and the facingmaterial at opposite sides of the slit isthen folded in through theopenings I 3 and cemented to the exposed surface of thebacking member asindicated at I A, Fig. 2.

Since both backing and facing material have uniform coatings of adhesivewhich becomes ac:- tive immediately upon stripping off the coveringsheet, the mere placing of one member on the other with a very slightpressure or rubbing is sufiicient to cause uniform adhesion of the twomembers throughout their entire areas without danger of damage fromdaubing them with cement. Moreover, as above pointed out, in accordancewith this method, the backing member is not folded in making thefinished edges, so that these edges are relatively thin as compared withthe results of usual modes of procedure, and the edges of the cut-cutsare readily finished no matter how small they may be. After the marginshave been folded back and cemented, the parts may be permanently unitedby stitching or otherwise in accordance with the usual practice.

In Fig. 10 a modification is suggested wherein instead of supplying thefacing and/or backing material with adhesive before cutting it up intoshoe parts, there is provided a thin sheet of adhesive which is normallyinactive and from which parts such as the parts 3*, of the same size andcontour as the backing member, may be cut. Such parts are theninterposed between the backing and facing members and after beingrendered active, serve to unite the backing and facing members firmlyand uniformly together. Such sheet adhesive may, for example, be a thinlayer of flexible glue, a thin layer of a cellulose derivative,- forexample, cellulose nitrate, a thin layer of a thermoplastic substance,such as latex rubber, or a thin and flexible layer of one of thesynthetic resins.

Fig. 11 illustrates another modification wherein, instead of a layersolely of adhesive material, such as that just referred to, a unitingpiece 3 is cut from thin material, for example, thin textile fabric,having coatings of adhesive on its opposite sides, or which isimpregnated throughout its substance with adhesive, or which may haveincluded threads at regular intervals of a substance which has adhesiveproperties when properly treated. Such uniting piece 3 may be interposedbetween the backing and facing members and caused to unite them eitherby the application of heat, a solvent, or both, thus providing for asecure and uniform adhesion between the facing and backing membersthroughout their entire extents.

Obviously other and equivalent modifications are to be regarded aswithin the scope of the present invention as set forth in the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. That method of making composite shoe-upper parts in which a facingmember and a backing member are united by adhesive, which comprises assteps providing facing material and backing material, one at least ofsaid materials having on one surface a uniformly distributed layer of anormally tacky adhesive, disposing a flexible sheet-like covering incontact with the adhesive, the outer surface at least of saidsheetlikecovering being non-sticky, cutting from the facing and backing materialsrespectively a composite facing member and a composite backing member,thereafter stripping away the sheetlike covering from the adhesive layerof said member or members, assembling the resultant facing and backingparts with the exposed tacky adhesive interposed between them, andpressing the parts into intimate contact.

2. That method of making composite garment parts in which a facingmember and a backing member are united by adhesive material whichcomprises as steps providing facing material and backing material eachof substantially uniform character and in substantial lengths and eachhaving on one surface a uniformly thin and uniformly distributed layerof normally tacky adhesive, temporarily protecting said adhesive layersby means of a non-sticky covering removable at will from such adhesivelayers, cutting from the backing and facing materials composite backingand facing members respectively, removing the coverings from theadhesive layers of said members, and disposing the resultant backing andthe facing parts with their adhesive layers in contact. I

3. That method of making composite garment parts in which a facingmember and a backing member are united by adhesive material whichcomprises as steps providing facing material and backing material eachof substantially uniform character and in substantial lengths, eachhaving on one surface a uniformly thin and uniformly distributed layerof normally tacky adhesive, tem-' porarily protecting said adhesivelayers by means of a non-sticky covering removable at will from saidadhesive layers, cutting from the backing and facing materialsrespectively a composite backing member and a composite facing member,said members being of generally similar contour but the composite facingmember being somewhat larger in area, removing the coverings from theadhesive layers of the composite backing and facing members, disposingthe resultant parts with their adhesive layers in contact and with themarginal portion of the facing part projecting beyond the edge of thebacking part and turning such projecting marginal portion of the facingpart over onto the exposed surface of the backing part, and uniting suchmarginal portion to the latter.

4. That method of making composite garment parts in which a facingmember and a backing member are united by adhesive material whichcomprises as steps providing facing material and backing material eachhaving on one surface a uniformly thin and uniformly distributed layerof normally tacky adhesive temporarily protected bymeans of a non-stickyfilm-like cover removable at will from such adhesive layers, cuttingfrom the backing and facing materials respectively a composite backingmember and a composite facing member, the backing member having anopening wholly within its border, removing the covers from the adhesivelayers of the backing and facing members, disposing the adhesive layersin contact, slitting the facing material where the latter overlies theopening in the backing material, turning the marginal portion of thefacing material bordering such slit inwardly through the opening in thebacking material, and securing such marginal portion against the exposedface of the backing member.

5. That method of making composite shoe-upper parts in which a facingmember and a backing member are united by adhesive material, whichcomprises as-steps providing facing material and backing material eachhaving on one surface a uniformly thin and uniformly distributed layerof a normally tacky adhesive, disposing a sheet of wax paper in contactwith each adhesive layer respectively, cutting from the backing andfacing materials respectively a composite backing member and a compositefacing member, thereafter stripping off the wax paper from each of saidmembers so as to expose the adhesive layers, and bringing said adhesivelayers into intimate contact thereby to unit the facing and backingparts uniformly throughout their respective extents.

6. That method of making composite shoe-upper parts in which a facingmember and a backing member are united by adhesive material, whichcomprises as steps providing facing material and backing material eachhaving on one surface a uniformly thin and uniformly distributed layerof a. normally tacky adhesive, disposing a flexible covering sheet incontact with each adhesivelayer, said covering sheets having nonstickyouter surfaces, cutting from the facing and backing materialsrespectively a composite facing member and a composite backing member,thereafter stripping off the cover sheets from the adhesive layers onsaid members, and bringing said adhesive layers into intimate contactthereby to unite the facing and backing parts throughout their entireextents.

7. That method of making composite garment parts in which a facingmember and a backing member are united by adhesive material whichcomprises as steps providing facing material and backing material eachhaving on one surface a uniformly thin and uniformly distributed layerof normally tacky adhesive temporarily protected by means of non-stickycovering sheets removable at will from such adhesive layers, cuttingfrom the backing and facing materials respectively a backing member anda facing member, said members being of generally similar peripheralcontour, the backing member being cut to the exact size of the shoepattern and the facing member being backing member having an openingwholly within its borders, removing the covering sheets from theadhesive layers of the two members, disposing the adhesive layers incontact so as to leave a marginal portion of the facing memberprojecting beyond a corresponding marginal portion of the backingmember, folding the projecting marginal portion of the facing memberover onto the exposed face of the backing member, and uniting them tothe latter, slitting the material of the facing member where it overliesthe opening in the backing member, and turning the facing materialbordering said slit inwardly through the opening in the backing memberand over onto the exposed face of the latter.

EDWIN P. WALKER.

of somewhat larger area, the

